//------------------------------// // Cloudsdale Tour // Story: Finding Happiness // by Wildcard25 //------------------------------// One afternoon, Anton was riding Silver up to Fluttershy's before pulling to a halt. He got off his bike and set it against the cottage before going inside. "I'm back!" he called. Fluttershy who was just finishing tending to a squirrel saw the boy, "Anton, welcome back. How was school today?" "The same old, actually. But in a good way." Anton admitted. "Well, as long as you had a good day," Fluttershy smiled, "Are you hungry? I can make you something." "No thanks. I'm good." the boy answered, as the door flung open to reveal Rainbow Dash. "Hey, guys!" The two jumped from Rainbow's sudden entrance. Anton turned around looking as if he had a heart attack, "I wish you wouldn't do that." "And miss a chance to see you and Fluttershy freak out?" Rainbow let out a laugh. Fluttershy rolled her eyes, "So, Rainbow Dash, what brings you over here?" "I was actually looking for Anton." "Me?" "That's right. Seeing as how you've been spending time with our friends, I felt it was time you hung out with the coolest pegasus in town." she boasted. "You really want me to hang out with you?" "You bet. And I've decided to take you to Cloudsdale and give you a tour." "Cloudsdale? That's the city in the sky where the pegasi live?" "You bet." "Um, don't I need to be a pegasus to even walk up there?" Anton asked. "Don't worry. Twilight's got a spell that can help with that. That is if ya wanna join me." "Well, I have been curious about seeing more places in Equestria. So I'm game." "Awesome!" Rainbow cheered, as she scooped him up, "Don't worry, Fluttershy I'll have the kid back before it gets dark. See you soon!" "Bye, Fluttershy!" Anton called, as Rainbow flew out with him. "Have fun!" Fluttershy waved bye, while smiling at Anton bonding more with her friends. Outside Twilight's castle, the princess had just finished applying the cloud walking spell to Anton's feet, "There. That should do it." "You sure this spell will work?" Anton asked nervously. "Absolutely. I use it on my friends all the time when we go to Cloudsdale." Twilight answered. "If you say so." Rainbow spoke, "Come on, Anton. Let's get going while the sun's still up." Anton climbed onto Rainbow's back, as she spread her wings and took off. Rainbow flew them above Ponyville before going into the clouds. They looked ahead seeing Cloudsdale, "That's Cloudsdale?" Anton asked. "You bet. One of the coolest places there is. Unless you count Ponyville." "It's amazing," Anton then thought to himself, 'I wonder if that's really how Olympus looks in Mythology?' "Hang on, buddy." Rainbow said, as she flew them closer before she landed on a cloud. Anton trusting in Twilight's spell, got off Rainbow and saw he was standing on the cloud as if it was the same as solid ground. "Wow, the spell really works!" Anton gasped, as he walked around. "Sure does. Come on, kid. I'll show you around." Rainbow said, as she started giving Anton the grand tour. As Anton followed Rainbow Dash, he saw multiple Pegasus ponies flying around going from one place to another, and some were even moving clouds into other spots in the sky. "This place is just so amazing. I mean an entire city in the clouds. We don't have anything like this back where I'm from." Anton said. "Then you've been missing out on a lot." Rainbow replied. Anton looked over seeing a factory, "Rainbow, what's that over there?" Rainbow looked over and answered, "Oh, that's the weather factory." "Weather factory?" "Yeah. It's where the pegasi make the weather." "Make the weather?" Anton wondered. "That's right. The rain, the snow, the rainbows. They all come from there." "Scientists would have a field day here trying to figure out how it's possible." Anton said, as they walked. Rainbow spoke while motioning to a stadium, "And that over there's the Cloudosseum. A lot of air shows are held there." "Air shows?" Anton wondered. "Yeah. Performed by the greatest team in all of Equestria, the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow declared. "What're they like?" Anton asked. "Well, how about I show you?" she offered. "Really?" "Uh-huh, because you happen to be looking at an official member of the team." she boasted. "You're one of them?" "You bet. I worked my way up from the academy to the reserves and now an official member." "Well, congrats, you must've really worked hard." "I sure did, but my awesomeness is what helped me for the most of it. Come on." she flew Anton up to the Wonderbolt's training area. Anton looked seeing various pegasus ponies flying around while wearing blue jumpsuits and goggles. They were flying at a incredibly fast pace, while some were leaving behind colored smoke trails. Needless to say, Anton looked truly captivated. "Wow to the wow!" he gasped. "Yeah. Awesome, isn't it?" Rainbow asked. "Very awesome." Three of the Wonderbolts looked down and spotted Rainbow. They flew down to greet her as the first one with an orange mane spoke first. "Hey, Rainbow Dash, how's it going?" "All's good, Spitfire. Soarin. Fleetfoot." she greeted them. "What brings you here?" Soarin wondered. "Actually, I'm kinda showing a friend of mine around." Rainbow answered, as all eyes fell on Anton. "Well, who's this little guy?" Fleetfoot asked. "This is Anton. He's living with Fluttershy back in Ponyville. I brought him to Cloudsdale to give him a tour." She nudged Anton to greet. "Nice to meet you all. My name's Anton MacLeod. And I have to say that performance up there was truly remarkable like a work of art." "Well, thanks, kid. Name's Spitfire by the way. Wonderbolt captain." she offered her hoof to him, and Anton fist bumped it. Soarin offered his hoof, "I'm Soarin. Nice to meet ya." Anton bumped his hoof with his fist. Fleetfoot was next, "And I'm Fleetfoot." "Nice to meet you, guys. Rainbow's been telling me so much about you." "Well it's not surprising. We do have a certain reputation." Spitfire answered. "How do manage to make such amazing colorful affects while flying?" Anton wondered. "Years of practice." Soarin answered. "Wow. You really are the best flying team in Equestria." "Yeah, but being the best doesn't mean we're above the rest, Spitfire said feeling dismal, "We've always been about pushing ourselves to our limits. But sometimes being a part of the team can also bring out the real prideful and cocky side of a pegasus." "What do you mean?" "Well, we've had two examples of what happens when letting the idea of being a Wonderbolt go to your head. First was during our academy training awhile back. A pegasus named Lightning Dust proved to be one of the fastest fliers in her group. I made her team leader because I was so caught up in her speed I didn't realize she disregarded the safety of her team. When Rainbow Dash came to me and explained about the situation she was ready to quit thinking we weren't about looking out for our team. But we didn't want to be viewed like that, so I did the right thing by revoking Lightning Dust's position in favor of Dash who truly showed the qualities for a team captain." "Oh, shucks." Rainbow brushed it off, while truly relishing in the praise. "Another incident was a bit more serious." Fleetfoot said. "What was that?" Soarin began, "Some time ago a retired Wonderbolt named Wind Rider framed Rainbow Dash for a crime she didn't commit." "Framed Rainbow? Why?" Anton asked. Spitfire spoke up, "This was before one of our aerial relays, and Rainbow Dash was one of the selected reserves to be on standby should any one of us be unable to perform. During the dinner the night before, I may have slipped out to Wind Rider, Rainbow Dash may have what it takes to beat his unbeatable speed record. He quickly became nervous at the possibility and staged it by sending me off on a wild goose chase and pin the blame on Rainbow hoping to get her kicked out." "But thanks to Rainbow Dash's friend Rarity she exposed him for his crime and we revoked his status." Soarin said. Anton was surprised, "Whoa. Nothing personal, but it really does feel like the Wonderbolts turn a pony into a self absorbed glory hound. No offense." "None taken. Besides it's ponies like Rainbow Dash who helped show us and others what being a Wonderbolt really means." Spitfire said. "Oh, Spitfire, you're embarrassing me." Rainbow laughed. "Well, I think you guys are lucky to have someone as cool as Rainbow Dash here as part of your team." Anton said, as he stood by Rainbow. Rainbow blushed, before smirking, "Oh, come here you rascal!" she playfully gave him a noogie. "Ow! Rainbow Dash, watch the hair!" Anton groaned, as the three Wonderbolts laughed. "Well, we better get going. We'll catch you later, Dash." Spitfire said. "Right." Rainbow agreed. "Bye, Anton!" the three waved before flying off. "Later!" Anton called to them. Rainbow held him close, "Come on, Anton. Let's go back to my place. I got something really cool to show you." "Sure." Anton said, as he climbed on her back and Rainbow flew off. At Rainbow's home, the pegasus brought Anton up to her room, "Nice digs." he admired the Wonderbotls and sports motif. "Thanks," she replied, before flying over to her pet tortoise, "Hey there, Tank. How's my good buddy." she rubbed his head. Anton walked up to the reptile, "Who's this?" "This here's my pet and bestest buddy Tank. Tank, this is Anton." Anton pet Tank's head, as the tortoise smiled slowly while enjoying the pats. The boy turned to the pegasus, "So what's this cool thing you want to show me?" "Well, ya like reading, don't ya? And I don't mean just comics." "Yeah. I enjoy a good book." "Well, then let me introduce you to the greatest book series to have ever been written." Rainbow began. "Greater than Harry Potter?" Rainbow was suddenly confused, "I don't know who that is. But you will be amazed at this series." she showed him the first volume of Daring Do. Anton looked at the book and read the title, "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone?" "Yeah. It's about this awesome adventurer pony who goes on these crazy adventures in search of rare artifacts," Rainbow sighed dreamily, "She's so awesome." "Huh. You know we have a fictional character like that in my world to. His name's Indiana Jones." "Indiana Jones?" the pegasus asked. "Yeah. And if Daring Do's anything like Indy, then I think I may like her already." "Well, come and sit down and we can read together." Rainbow offered. "Ok." Anton took a spot by Rainbow Dash. She opened the book and the two began reading together. Later on, the two had finished the first book, and Rainbow turned to her human friend, "So, what'd ya think, Anton?" "Daring Do is one cool pony." Anton said with amaze. "Yeah. She sure is." Rainbow agreed knowing her favorite book character isn't fictional. Anton looked at the time seeing how late it was getting, "Whoa, is it that late already?" "Yeah. When you're caught up in a good book like this time just flies by. Well, we better get ya back to Fluttershy." "Uh-huh. Say any chance you could loan me more of the Daring Do books?" "You bet. I have at least three copies of each." "Three?" Anton raised a brow. "I read one, I put one away, and the third is for back up." "I see." "Well, come on, kid. Let's go." Rainbow flew Anton off. Soon enough they arrived back in Ponyville outside Fluttershy's cottage, where Fluttershy was outside waiting for them. "Hey, Fluttershy!" Anton greeted her. "Hello, Anton. Did you have fun with Rainbow Dash today?" "I sure did. It was awesome. She even got me into the Daring Do series." "That's very nice. Thank you for spending the day with Anton, Rainbow." "No problem, Fluttershy. Anton, let's hang out again soon." "You bet." Anton agreed, as he hugged the pegasus who returned the embrace. When they parted, Rainbow flew off for home. Anton turned to Fluttershy, "Hey, Fluttershy?" "Yes?" "I'm getting kinda hungry." "You are? Well, come on. I'll make us some dinner and you can tell me how your day was with Rainbow." "Sounds good." Anton said, as the two went inside the cottage.